The Legend of Spyro: Cynder's Darkest Hour
by CynderFanForever
Summary: Cynder still mourns Spyro, who died while trying to save her from the malignant pink dragoness Zyla. As she enters her darkest hour, Cynder finds Spyro, somehow, still alive. How is this possible? How is Zyla connected? And how will it all end?
1. The Vision

**The Legend of Spyro: Cynder's Darkest Hour**

Chapter 1- The Vision

Terrador stood at the front entrance to the Temple, where he watched as five guests entered what used to be the training room.

The reason was one that he would never have wished for.

And that one reason was because of a funeral. The funeral of the world's savior: Spyro the Dragon.

Spyro had died during a rescue mission. The one that was supposed to be saved: Cynder. As he helped the dragoness he loved, Cynder, out of the castle she was being held hostage in, the malignant pink dragoness, Zyla, confronted them both. He was able to get Cynder out of the castle, but the castle was destroyed, Spyro still inside.

Before that, Spyro and Cynder were living their normal lives in Avalar Valley.

Then they were summoned to the cheetah city of Kasi to see if they could help the cheetahs in a battle with some of Zyla's warriors.

During the battle, Cynder was knocked unconscious and was taken by Zyla, along with Spyro, to her own castle.

Spyro had been able to escape, but Cynder was not as lucky. Spyro came back for her, along with Terrador, a cheetah named Hunter that had helped her and Spyro back when Malefor had returned, and the new leader of the cheetah tribe of Avalar, Mara (neither of whom could be at the funeral). The old leader, Chief Prowlus, had been killed by Zyla. While Spyro helped Cynder out of the castle, they were confronted by Zyla.

During the fight, Terrador, who was soon going to be overwhelmed and killed, unleashed a large fury. As the castle was destroyed, Spyro got Cynder out, but Spyro was not as lucky, and the castle was destroyed. But Zyla was able to escape.

Cynder believed Terrador to be the cause for the dragon she loved's death, along with Zyla.

Cynder decided to find Zyla and kill her, and then she flew off.

Cynder tracked Zyla down and attempted to kill her, but just as she was winning, Zyla hit grazed her back with her tail, which had a blade on the end, and bit her neck.

Zyla then left her for dead and flew away. Luckily for Cynder, Terrador had followed her and found her close to death. He took her back to the Temple and nursed her back to health.

When Cynder woke, Terrador tried to explain to her that there was still something to live for even though Spyro was gone.

However, Cynder admitted that she still blamed Terrador for Spyro's death and flew off.

Terrador sadly made his way over to Cyril, the Ice Guardian, and Volteer, the Electricity Guardian, and asked, "Cynder didn't show up while I was getting the water from the Silver River, did she?"

Cyril sighed with exhaustion. "I'm afraid not, Terrador, but you should not give up the hope that she will come to the funeral later."

Terrador also sighed and walked into the training room. He turned to the guests and began his speech.

"We are gathered here today to mourn a special dragon," he said. "Spyro was the one who ended Malefor and the one who saved Cynder when she was under the Dark Master's control, and the one who saved the world when Malefor threatened to destroy it. We, the Guardians, knew him to be the dragon who saved us from Cynder when she was under the Dark Master's control. Today is a day to remember him. We give our hearts to those he loved, including Cynder, who isn't here right now…"

"I'm here," announced a sadness-filled voice.

The guests (Spyro's foster parents, Nina and Flash, and foster-brother, Sparx, and two moles Spyro saved in Munitions Forge, Mole-Yair and Exhumor) turned around to see Cynder.

Her emerald eyes were red and puffy and, to Terrador and the other guardians, she looked thinner and her black scales with a purplish hue were paler.

As soon as she'd limped over to where the guests were, she was bombarded with questions.

"Cynder, what really did happen to Spyro?" Sparx eagerly asked the black dragoness.

"Were you really there when it happened?" Mole-Yair asked. "Were you?"

Before another question could be asked, Cynder burst into tears. Sparx stopped asking questions and tried to comfort the small black dragoness.

"Hey, you need to just calm down, Cynder," Sparx told her.

"Calm down, Sparx?" she asked. "How can I calm down? It's impossible! You don't know how it feels, Sparx! You just don't know how it feels to have lost everybody you truly care about! I never knew my parents, unlike you, and Spyro had foster parents, so that means that my true family is probably dead, and my life-mate, Spyro, is dead! I just can't live in a world without Spyro!"

Terrador was taken aback by what Cynder had said. She had truly cared about Spyro, no doubt about it.

And he knew that she still blamed him for Spyro, her mate's, death.

Cynder tried to wipe her tears, but was stopped by another, more fresh flow of tears.

"I just feel so empty all the time without him. And none of you get how bad my pain is!" Cynder exclaimed.

Terrador suddenly stepped forward. He had a sad look on his face, but burning earth could be seen in his bright green eyes, which was a bad sign.

"Cynder," he began fiercely, "what you don't get is that I also mourn for those I've lost every day! I too mourn Spyro, Cynder, as I know you do and probably always will, but he's not the only one I mourn."

"Who the heck else do you mourn, Terrador?"

"Ever since I learned of his death, I mourn Ignitus, who, just like Spyro, died to save you. And it seems that in both instances, you went and did something that was dumb. The first was confronting Malefor, but that ended well, with Spyro and you saving the world. But when Spyro died, you flew off and confronted Zyla. And look what happened, Cynder! You were almost killed! If I remember correctly, she hit your spine with her barbed tail, and then bit your neck. If it hadn't been for me following you and finding you, you would have died and you would not be here right now, Cynder. Please realize that."

At the mention of Cynder being bitten on the neck, Sparx's mother gasped and covered her mouth.

Cynder stared at Nina, then looked back to Terrador. "That is something that I don't need any reminding of, Terrador. And also, I've still got the scars from that fight, didn't you know?"

Terrador suddenly saw the scars on Cynder's neck from Zyla's bite and the scar on her back from Zyla's bladed tail.

Pure hatred filled Cynder's emerald eyes and Terrador took a step back, fearful.

"I never wanted to remember any of that, Terrador, you know that," said Cynder.

"All right," said Terrador. "I'm sorry, I never meant to say that. I know how you blame me for Spyro's death, but-"

He silenced himself when he saw Cynder flick her bladed tail in pure anger.

Tears formed again in her eyes and she ran off into the room that held the Pool of Visions.

Since Ignitus's death, only one dragon could look into the Pool of Visions, and that dragon was Cynder.

As one of the tears flowed freely, something dark came into focus in the pool.

She squinted hard through her veil of tears and saw something she never thought she would again: her old abandoned fortress, which she used when she was under the dark influence of the Dark Master and where Spyro first truly confronted and fought her. A gasp escaped her lips: It was still hard to think of Spyro.

A decision formed in her mind: she would go to her old abandoned fortress to see what was there in the first place.

As she began to leave the Temple, Terrador stopped her by standing in front of her.

"Where are you going, Cynder?" he asked.

"I'm going somewhere," she answered. "But I won't tell you where, and you know exactly why I won't, Terrador, I know you do."

As Terrador opened his mouth again, Cynder took off into the night sky and disappeared.


	2. Love

Chapter 2- Love

Cynder flew far and fast to her old abandoned fortress hidden in the dark clouds above her.

Near the fortress lay the small lands known as Munitions Forge, where Cynder first met Spyro, though that had been when she was evil.

Cynder could sense the fortress long before she saw it. When she had lived there, she created a forcefield around it that only a few could sense. If they could sense it, then they knew that evil bred here. But not many could sense that, and only three had left the fortress alive: her, Ignitus, and Spyro.

She had left it to collect the guardians' power orbs she had made when she was corrupted so that she could free the Dark Master's essence from the strange realm known as Convexity. Ignitus had left it soon after she had taken most of his remaining elemental power and entered Convexity to free the Dark Master's essence from its prison. And Spyro had left it soon after their first fight to confront her one final time and stop her from freeing the Dark Master's essence.

At long last, Cynder found her footing on the marble floor of the first floor of her fortress.

Her wings ached from flying so far so fast. She walked silently through her fortress, knowing that there was no danger around, as Spyro had killed all the apes that had lived there just before confronting her.

A flash of light caught her eye. She looked up and saw a burst of orange-red fire.

Her heart was thumping hard in her chest now. What was at the top? Cynder could only wonder what or where the burst of fire came from.

She opened her wings and flew like a bullet to the top of the fortress. Large black pillars supported metal beams above her. Besides the way she came up, if she jumped off any other side of the top without opening her wings, she would fall to her death in the dark sea below.

The black dragoness's emerald eyes searched for at least one tiny sign of life.

As she searched, a familiar voice reached her ears. "What do you want?" the voice demanded.

Cynder spun around and gasped. Standing in front of her was the one dragon she never thought she'd see again: Spyro.

But it was not the Spyro she loved. In fact, the Spyro standing in front of her was the form she nicknamed "Dark Spyro."

Spyro's eyes were white instead of amethyst, his scales were pure black instead of the regular purple, and from what she could tell, this form made his voice distorted, almost like Malefor's voice. There was one question in her mind: how was Spyro still alive?

After all, Terrador's fury had gone so haywire that the entire castle had been destroyed, and Spyro had been inside.

So how in the world was Spyro still alive?

Before Cynder could think anything else, Spyro attacked, his claws outstretched.

Cynder screamed in pain as his claws grazed her side, leaving long gashes that bled freely.

"I don't want to fight you, Spyro!" she protested.

"Shut up, dragoness!" snapped Spyro coldly. "All you are is a nuisance to the world, especially since you serve Malefor!"

A light bulb went off in Cynder's mind. Spyro had been manipulated to believe that she was evil!

"I'm not evil, Spyro!" she cried. But he wasn't listening, and attacked her again.

She shrieked as his claws scraped her back, opening the wound left there by Zyla.

Cynder, already exhausted from the flight, was ready to collapse. Her legs were wobbling and she felt absolutely terrible.

And now this fight, with her sustained injuries, made her want to just curl up and die.

She felt the worst pain yet when Spyro swiped his claws across her ruby-scaled chest. The blood that seeped from the gashes blended in with her chest scales.

Next came a slash across her wing, making a large tear, and finally a blast of purple Convexity breath blasted her in the chest. She felt her other wing and front right leg break as she fell to the ground.

Tears escaped her yet again as she waited to die, for Spyro, the dragon she loved, to deliver the death blow.

He made his way to her small, twitching body.

"Fight back!" he roared, saying what she had said when Malefor corrupted her the second time, when he had made her fight Spyro. "Why wont you fight back?"

She looked up at him, her emerald eyes filled with sorrow and hopelessness.

She turned her head away from him and hung it.

"Because you've left me nothing to fight for," she finally told him. At this, Spyro's eyes widened. "And…I love you."

There was a sudden flash of light and Cynder saw Spyro standing there, back to normal.

He shook his head and his eyes cleared, returning to their normal purple color.

Finally he realized where he was. He looked around, surprised to even be there.

He could still remember how the fight with Zyla had gone haywire and the castle breaking apart, because of Terrador's fury, with him still inside.

If that had happened, then why was he at Cynder's old abandoned fortress all of a sudden?

He heard a small whimper and looked down to see the small black dragoness on the ground, curled up and whimpering. There was a dark pool of red forming around her small body: blood.

"Cynder?" he gasped. "Oh my God, Cynder, you're bleeding! Who did this to you?"

She looked up at him. Her eyes were teary, but she looked grateful to see him.

Spyro then realized something.

"Cynder, did I do this to you?" Cynder didn't want to say yes, but she had no choice. She nodded, but her injuries prevented her from doing it fully.

Spyro felt guilt rising up in his heart. The dragoness he loved was injured and bleeding, and it was all because of him.

She did her best to smile through all the pain. "I'm glad you're back, Spyro," she whispered.

He smiled too, tears forming in his eyes. Then Cynder's eyes rolled back in her head and her head dropped to the ground.

Spyro was scared; he checked her pulse: it was just barely there. He had to get her back to the Temple or somewhere. Otherwise, the small black dragoness would die in his arms, all because of him…

He gently picked her up in his claws and took flight, leaving the dark towers of Cynder's even darker and miserable past behind.

* * *

Terrador stood outside on the Temple's balcony, watching the night sky for a sign of Cynder's return.

Nina flew out to him; the guests were spending the night at the Temple until the following morning.

"Is everything okay, Terrador?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. "I just hope that Cynder comes back soon. I'm worried for her."

"She was pretty upset when she left," acknowledged Nina. "Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I hope that where she did go, there's no danger anywhere around."

"There probably won't be. With those scars she had, she probably made sure that there's no danger anywhere around," Nina said.

Terrador opened his mouth, but then he heard the flapping of a dragon's wings.

He could sense two life forms coming toward the Temple. If the life forms were dangerous, then he was ready for battle.

But when the creatures flew underneath the moon, Terrador let out a gasp.

There, flying across the night sky, was Spyro, and in his claws was Cynder, the black dragoness hanging limply.

Nina also had her mouth open, staring at her foster son, who, just seconds ago, she thought to be dead.

He landed slowly on his hind legs and gently put Cynder down. Fear was deep in Spyro's purple eyes and Cynder was terribly wounded.

Though visibly shocked at Spyro's sudden appearance, Terrador asked, "Spyro, what happened? What happened to Cynder?"

"I'll explain later," he said. "She lost a lot of blood and she's just barely breathing."

Terrador nodded. "Cyril!" he called. Cyril came rushing out of the Temple. He was suddenly shocked just by seeing Spyro.

"Yes?" he finally said.

"Cynder's terribly injured, take her into the room of the Pool of Visions and have Mole-Yair and Exhumor tend to her injuries."

Cyril nodded, picked Cynder up, and made his way to the Pool of Visions.

Spyro looked down at the ground. He was ashamed that it was he who injured Cynder.

He began to follow, but Terrador stopped him in mid-step, a serious expression on his face. He obviously wanted Spyro to explain.

"What happened, Spyro?" he asked gruffly.

Spyro sighed and explained the entire thing, from what he pieced together from what Cynder had said to him flying all the way back to the Temple with Cynder.

Then he said that he still didn't know how he was still alive since the castle's collapse.

Terrador's face and eyes slowly softened. "Well," he said, "I believe that we can save any other questions for much, much later. For right now, we must hope that Cynder will make a full recovery."

"It's all my fault!" said Spyro. "If I had had the strength to get out of my dark mode, then she would never have been mortally wounded like this at all, Terrador!" Tears streamed down the purple dragon's cheeks.

"Spyro, this was out of your control. You were lucky to have Cynder there to help you. When she decided to leave, I tried to stop her. If I had done that, then she would have been unable to help the one and only dragon that she loved."

Spyro dried his tears and tried to smile, but was unable to do so.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Spyro asked.

"Cynder's injuries were quite extensive from what I could tell, and she lost a lot of blood because of those injuries, am I right, Spyro?"

Spyro nodded. "And all those injuries were caused by me," he mumbled under his breath.

"Just don't blame yourself, Spyro," Terrador told him. "None of this was under your control."

"Can I go see her, Terrador?" Spyro asked. "Just to see that she's okay, please!"

"For right now, you can't-" Terrador stopped in mid-sentence as the door that lead into the Pool of Visions opened and Cyril came out, a blank expression on his face.

"How is she, Cyril?" Terrador asked intensively.

"Mole-Yair said that Cynder will make an okay recovery, but she will still be injured for quite some time," Cyril answered.

He looked over to Spyro and opened his mouth, but Terrador stopped him.

"Cyril, Spyro has been through enough tonight, and he's already had to tell me everything, so I suggest you just leave him alone for tonight, at least."

"So am I allowed to see Cynder now, Terrador?"

"I guess you can, Spyro, but do not talk to her for a long time. She must rest if she is to make a full recovery."

Spyro nodded and padded to the room of the Pool of Visions. Cynder lay on a flat rock, her breathing heavy and labored.

She opened her emerald eyes a crack, saw Spyro, and smiled a little.

"How are you doing, Cynder?" Spyro asked.

"My injuries still pain me one heck of a lot," she answered, her voice rasping with fatigue.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you, Cynder-" Spyro began, but was cut off by Cynder.

"Spyro, it wasn't your fault," she whispered. "It was actually whoever manipulated you's fault."

"Who do you think that was, Cynder?" Spyro asked.

Though it hurt terribly, Cynder shook her head as slow as she could. "I don't know, Spyro. I just don't," Cynder said.

Spyro looked away from his mate and glanced at the floor of the room, then at the Pool of Visions. He couldn't see anything.

"Can you see anything, Spyro?" asked Cynder.

"No," Spyro answered. "Can you see anything, Cynder?"

The black dragoness hesitated, then told him, "Yes, I actually can. When I thought you were dead, I still looked in the pool just to make sure it wasn't true."

"What I did was a mistake, Cynder," Spyro admitted. "If we hadn't left for that cheetah city in the first place, then-" Cynder struggled to quiet him.

"Spyro, do you want to know what I can see?"

"Yes."

"I see two dragons, one purple, one black. It seems that they are living happily ever after. And as far as I can tell, they will."

Spyro stared at her. "Is this really what you see in the Pool of Visions, Cynder?"

"No," she told him. "It's what I truly imagine our future to be like, Spyro, just you and me, forever living our lives in peace."

He smiled at her. "Cynder, you don't know how much what you've said means to me, and you don't know how much you mean to me."

"I think I do, Spyro," she whispered weakly.

"I would do anything to be in the spot you are in now," he explained. "I will always love you."

She smiled at him. "I know you will, Spyro. And I will always love you. But for now, I just need some rest to let my injuries heal, as Cyril said." She laughed a little, though it hurt. "I'll see you in the morning."

Spyro nodded and left the room. As he stepped out, he took one last look at Cynder. She was the most beautiful dragoness he had ever known. He hoped that she was able to live through the night with her injuries. They said that she would make a recovery, but Spyro didn't know for sure, nor did anybody. Then the doors to the room of the Pool of Visions closed, leaving Spyro's mind in total darkness.


	3. Parts

**Chapter 3 **

**Parts Left Behind**

Spyro averted his gaze from the door and bowed his head. Anger boiled in his heart. He had injured Cynder, and she was the dragoness he loved. He had vowed to never injure her, and if he had, then he would end his own life if she was either dead or if it meant saving her life. That was that.

Terrador came over to Spyro. He looked down at the obviously shaken purple dragon. He knew that now was probably not the time to be asking this but he had to know for sure.

"Spyro, do you know why you had been in the dark version of yourself when Cynder found you?" he inquired.

"No, I don't," Spyro admitted honestly. "The last thing I really do remember is that, while under the influence of that darkness, I felt something even more evil lurking in that place." At this, Terrador's eyes widened.

"Spyro, I think I know what may be happening," he said.

"You do?"

"Yes. Many years ago, after Malefor had been sealed away for the first time, Ignitus told me the possibility of Malefor having parts of himself in the world. At first, I thought he was crazy, as there could've been no possible way that could be true, but now I think he may have been right. If there is a part of Malefor there in Cynder's fortress, then maybe you should do something about it. Ignitus mentioned that there may have been seven, and so I want you to go around the realms and see if you can find any of the parts. Try places where Malefor may have gone and where he was trained. But I want you to save the one at Cynder's fortress for last, as we don't know if that one is too strong for you to handle. Do you understand, Spyro?"

Spyro nodded. "Yes, I do," he answered. "Will anybody be coming with me?"

Terrador sighed. "Not now. All of us here will have our hands full with helping Cynder recover. Maybe you can ask Sparx, though. He may want to go along with you."

Spyro walked away, ready to leave. His first plan was to go to Warfang to see if there was a part there, as Malefor had been trained by the Ancestors back when he had been an apprentice. As he went to the balcony, Sparx flew in front of him, his eyes full of sorrow and a little tint of happiness.

"Sparx, it's good to see you again!" Spyro exclaimed.

"It's good to see you, too," Sparx replied back.

"I know this may sound really weird, but do you want to come with me to find the parts of Malefor he had left behind before he was sealed away the first time?" Spyro knew it sounded like a stupid question, but he wanted somebody to accompany him on his journey, and he hadn't seen Sparx in a very long time, since before the siege of the cheetah city known as Kasi.

"Hm, maybe, but Spyro, I think you should rest for the night," Sparx suggested to his foster brother. "After all, you just came back from the dead, and with Cynder, too, and from what I saw, she was badly injured."

"I wish I could tell you what happened back there, Sparx, but I just can't. But what I think I can do is sleep here until morning, and then I'll be off to Warfang, and then go to the Ruins to see if I can find a part of Malefor there."

"Hm, okay, but that just sounds very weird." At that, for the first time in a long time, Spyro laughed. It felt good to finally have an emotion other than anger or sorrow in his body.

Spyro went to the edge of the balcony and lay down. He curled up and put his head on his paws. As he closed his eyes, all he could feel was remorse.

"This is where it all ends, dragon!" hissed the pink dragoness. Her eyes swept over him and Spyro could see true rage there. One side of the dragon's face was burned terribly.

"No, Zyla, my end will never come, not now, not here, and not by your claw," Spyro declared.

"Hmmm...That could be arranged." Spyro suddenly felt claws on his spine. He whirled around to see those familiar emerald eyes, and then there was a pain in his skull, and he thought no more.

"AHHH!" Spyro's head snapped up and he stared around where he was laying down.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, though he did see that Sparx was sleeping where Terrador usually slept. Or at least had back in the old Temple. He remembered that this was a new one, as the old one had been destroyed when he, Cynder, and Malefor had been fighting at the core of the Earth and when the Destroyer had completed its course, causing the end of the world. The new one had been made by the Guardians soon after the event and after Spyro had repaired the damage done to the world by Malefor and the Destroyer.

Spyro put his head back down again, and closed his eyes once again, this time hoping for a dreamless sleep.

Sunlight streamed into Spyro's eyes. He opened his amethyst eyes and looked at his surroundings. The balcony shimmered in the light. Sparx flew up next to Spyro and put an arm on his foster brother's shoulder. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Sparx.

"It sure is," agreed Spyro. He heard heavy footsteps and turned around to see Terrador.

"It will be time for you to go soon," Terrador told him. "Where do you first plan on going?"

"I plan on going to the ruins of Warfang, where I know that the Ancients trained Malefor," Spyro explained. "Then I may go to the White Isle to see what I can find there."

"This seems like a good plan. But remember, Spyro: do not venture near the old abandoned fortress. The part of Malefor that was there is obviously very powerful. If anybody is not careful, then they will be corrupted by that part of Malefor.

"It already happened to me, and now look at the consequences of that corruption," Spyro said.

"Yes, this was an unfortunate consequence, but the good thing is that Cynder is alive. As long as she is, we still have hope. One good thing that came out of this is that she was not corrupted by that part of Malefor. It is quite amazing. But this also means that it may not corrupt those who have already gone through it. It may corrupt those who are or were pure of heart."

"Cynder is pure of heart, Terrador. She has made some choices that weren't the best, but haven't we all?" This was a question that caught Terrador off guard. He hadn't thought of that.

"She is, and you are right, Spyro," he admitted. "My choice of trying to make Cynder stay here at the Temple was not a good one. For if she had stayed here, you would not be here now." The battle-scarred warrior gave a small smile at that.

"So should I leave now, Terrador?" Spyro asked.

"I believe you should," Terrador told him. "But first, you must prepare for what you must face out there. I want you to close your eyes." Spyro did so. "Good. Now clear your mind of all thoughts that could cause you to hesitate in the middle of battle." Spyro did so, but he decided to keep his thought of Cynder in his mind, knowing that seeing her would give him hope and strength in the middle of a battle. "Now that you have done that," Terrador continued, "I believe that you are ready for whatever you face out there. You may not have Cynder with you, but you do have Sparx, and he shall keep you company. As long as he is there, you should be fine." As soon as Terrador was done saying that, Nina, Flash, Mole-Yair and Exhumor entered the room. "I will leave you all alone for a bit." Terrador walked away and entered the room where Cynder lay.

Nina flew over to her foster son, as did Flash.

"Spyro," she said, and then gave him a large hug around his snout. Flash did the same. "I believe in you, Spyro. When you are done with this journey, you may come back, and then we can all live happily ever after. Me, your father, Sparx, you, and of course, Cynder." She smiled. "I love you, and I have faith in you, Spyro. I will never give up hope as long as you are around. Remember that, Spyro."

"I will, Mom," Spyro assured her. He looked over to Flash, who was smiling also.

"Your mother has pretty much said everything that I wanted to, but besides that, I wanted to tell you that no matter what happens, me and your mother will never stop loving you," Flash said to him.

Spyro smiled. He then looked over to Mole-Yair and Exhumor. The moles were very happy to see him, it seemed.

"Spyro, I never gave up hope," Mole-Yair told him. "I knew that even if you were gone, Cynder would carry on your legacy. But now that you have returned, there is no point in someone carrying on your legacy! You are the real person, the one who will lead the world out of darkness once and for all, along with his mate, Cynder!"

"Hey, what about me?" protested Sparx.

With a small laugh at Sparx's joke, Spyro said, "Thank you, Mole-Yair. This means a lot to me."

Both moles nodded and then walked away. Then the three guardians came up to him.

"Spyro, I believe it is time that you begin your new journey," Terrador told him. "Be careful. If Zyla does find you, then do your best to daze her, then run. She is too large of a challenge at the moment."

"Zyla's still around?" asked Spyro. "I was thinking that she was dead already."

"No. I wish. She was able to escape after a battle with Cynder. It left Cynder terribly wounded, and Zyla is still out there somewhere. I wish I knew where."

Spyro sighed. He then looked out at the balcony. The sun was beginning to rise higher. He knew it was time to go now.

"I have to go now, Terrador," he told the Earth guardian. Terrador nodded, and Spyro began to make his way to the edge of the balcony.

Just as he opened his wings, he felt a soft paw on his shoulder. He turned around to see Cynder.

"Cynder!" Spyro exclaimed. "You should be resting. What are you doing up?"

"I had to see you go," she told him. Her throat was still dry. "I wish it didn't have to be this soon, especially after all that has happened."

"I know," he replied. "But I have to do this. If I don't, then we will never be able to live our happily ever after that both of us imagine."

She nodded. He could see that she was tearing up. He gave her a very soft hug. He then whispered to her, "I have to go now."

She whispered back, "Be careful. I can't live without you."

He smiled. Then she whispered in his ear again.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he said back. He then turned back around and opened his wings. He took flight. He saw Sparx by his side. As he flew away, he gave Cynder a smile. She gave him one back. He flew farther away from the Temple and soon Cynder was no longer in his sight.

As he flew farther and farther away, Spyro began to tear up. He hoped this journey didn't last long. He wanted to return to Cynder soon. He wanted the both of them to return to their cave in Avalar Valley and live the rest of their lives in peace. But, then again, how could they? Especially if Zyla was still out there somewhere.

Sparx flew in front of him. "So I see you're thinking about Cynder," he said. "Don't worry, I won't laugh. I know she means a lot to you. And I know you can't live without her."

"You're right, I can't live without her. All I want is for me and her to live the rest of our lives in peace, but that's impossible at the moment, especially since Zyla is still around. I wish I knew where she was. But Terrador did tell me that if I see Zyla, I should run."

"Hey, since when has Terrador's advice been the best? You remember what he said. He tried to stop Cynder from going to her old abandoned fortress. If he had stopped her, then I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

"Yeah, you're right, but I still want to be careful," Spyro told him. Sparx only nodded.

After a few minutes of silence, Spyro finally broke it.

"So what all happened while I was away, Sparx?" he asked.

"Well, Cynder went MIA for a bit," he explained. "She never turned up again until yesterday, which was when we were having your funeral. When she did turn up, though, she wasn't looking that good. Her eyes were kind of red, and that was probably from all the crying she had done, and you know how her scales are a deep black with a purplish hue?" Spyro nodded. "Well, the color seemed to have faded a little. My guess is that it was all the stress she had gone through during the days following your supposed death."

"So my supposed death really left a mark on her?"

"It seems so. Poor gal. The day of your funeral, which was yesterday, she arrived at the Temple, and we all kind of asked her questions about all that had happened, because we wanted the full story. But when some of the questions got a little personal, she began to cry, and then she told us all that without you, she just can't live. She said that she feels so empty without you, and that really no one knows how bad her pain was."

Spyro thought about that for a moment. Because of his supposed death, Cynder had gone into a depression. Sadness filled him as he thought about that. Why hadn't he just tried to get out of the trance he had been in at her fortress and come back to her sooner? He had no answer for these questions.

"I should've come back earlier, Sparx," he cried. "Why the heck did I just stay at that fortress, under that trance, and wait for her to come so that I could attack her? WHY!"

Sparx had no answer for him. He wished he did.

"Look, buddy, sometimes things aren't really under our control. We have to learn how to deal with crap like this. You probably weren't able to break out of that trance because the one behind it was so powerful. Look, you need to stop thinking of what you could've done then and think of what you're doing now! You can't change the past, Spyro."

"Yeah, but I really wish I could change the past. Then me and Cynder would still be living happily in the Valley of Avalar, safe from Zyla and all the crap she put us through."

"How much crap did she put you through?"

"First, she attacked Cynder while we were helping out the cheetah tribe from Avalar in a city known as Kasi. Then she attacked the temple in that city where the wounded were healed, killing Chief Prowlus, injuring Cynder, and knocking me unconscious. She took us to her castle, where she tried to make us believe that love doesn't exist. We stopped her there, but then Zyla decided to execute me. Terrador was able to save me, but we had to leave Cynder behind. I believe Cynder was tortured while me and Terrador planned a rescue for her, and I know that Zyla put a meat hook in her shoulder. Next me and Terrador attempted to rescue Cynder, which only ended in the castle crumbling while I was getting Cynder out and my supposed death. From what I heard, Cynder went after Zyla, who had somehow escaped death as the castle was destroyed, and the fight they had ended in Cynder being terribly wounded. It would explain the bite marks I saw on her neck as I flew her back to the Temple."

Sparx whistled. "Wow. And I thought I was the one having a hard life. Look, that's just not right. Neither you nor Cynder deserved any of that crap. Zyla will be found and I know that you will destroy her. By the way, is there any chance that Zyla may be corrupted?"

"I already know the answer to that," Spyro told him. "She really is serving Malefor without being corrupted. None of it makes sense, if you ask me. But for now, let's just move on to what we're going to do once we get to Warfang."

"Okay," sighed Sparx.

"Terrador told me that one of the parts of Malefor may be in the Ruins, so what we have to do is get into the Ruins, find that part of Malefor, and then destroy it before it can do anything," Spyro explained.

"Oh, it's that simple," Sparx said sarcastically.

"Stop being sarcastic. Now's not the time for that," Spyro told him. "We must find that part before it can cause any harm to Warfang. I just wonder why me and Cynder were never able to find the part back when me and her traveled down there to open up the gates."

"Maybe it's because it's in a deeper part of the Ruins?"

"Sparx, you're a genius! It must be really down there. Malefor only did it so no one would find it by accident. Now all I have to find out is why he believed it would be the best place to put a part of himself. Do you Have any thoughts on that, Sparx?" Silence. "Sparx?"

"Hey buddy, be quiet. Just look ahead of you."

"What? It's probably just some empty field."

"No, it's not," Sparx protested. "Just look."

"Fine. I'll look closer. But I doubt it's anything." Spyro peered through the mist in front of him that had just rolled in from the sea. As it rolled away, Spyro could only stare speechlessly at what was in front of him.

In the distance, among two valleys, stood Warfang.


End file.
